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Does It Make Sense to Attend A Community College?

As you begin your college education, it's important to keep your options open and be realistic . Freedom is nice, but financial aid and the quality of educational instruction are important factors as well. If you are unsure about your ability to succeed at the undergraduate level, investigate your local community college.

College bound seniors search high and low for the perfect University to attend after high school. Students eagerly look forward to freedom and time away from home, while nervous parents fret, secretly hoping that their child will pick a school that is not only close to home but also within their budget. For the most part, teenagers want autonomy, and going away for school can provide exactly that. Smart parents though often worry that their children, accustomed to being accountable and even coddled in high school, will find themselves overwhelmed. Community colleges are a wonderful tool for both students and their parents to consider, because they provide high quality education locally, and often at a fraction of the cost of traditional colleges and universities.

Generally speaking, your typical four year university requires 120 credit hours to graduate. These requirements can be broken down as follows:1.40 credits of general education requirements2.40 credits of electives3.40 credits for your major field of study

Attending a community college makes a great deal of sense financially, as a student can remain close to home and save money on housing by living with the parents for an additional two years. It may be a struggle, but the savings are enormous. Tuition is also considerably less at community colleges. Hundreds of dollars compared to public universities and thousands of dollars less than private colleges. Furthermore, many community colleges have reciprocal agreements with their public four year counterparts, meaning that all of the community colleges will transfer and the student will start at the four year school as a junior.

At large schools like University of Florida, Arizona State University, North Carolina State University and the University of Texas at Austin, introductory classes are often taught be graduate level teaching assistants anyway, in large auditoriums. They are credit factories at this point, and many of those introductory classes are designed to weed out students who probably should not be there in the first place. Estimates vary, but some studies indicate that as many as 50% of all students will drop out of school by the end of their sophomore year. That’s a gigantic attrition rate. Community colleges at least provide equal if not better education at a fraction of the price, and the credits will more often than not transfer. If you refer back to the credit breakdown, you will see that 2/3rds of your credits do not relate specifically to your major. They are, in essence, general education credits. From a quality standpoint, there's no real reason why you can't get these credits at a community college and then transfer to the four year school of your choice to focus on your major.While going off to college appeals to a great many young people, many are totally oblivious to the challenges of being a full time college student. If money is an issue (and it always is), community college provides the best of both worlds. Students can get their feet wet in a college setting without getting into debt. And by living at home, they still have the support and accountability they have been used to relying on for their entire lives.

Investigate your local community college. Ask them about credit transfers and agreements they have with colleges and universities both in your state and throughout the country. This information is readily available, as attending a two year school and then transferring is a common and accepted tactic among savvy students and parents who want to increase the educational experience while decreasing the financial burden associated with it.